So is the Canon R5 a bird photography body? (2 Viewers)

[Dave Williams]

I did read that grey imports were going to be targeted in future by our relevant tax people, and the whole future might be dependant on what final Brexit arrangements are made so that too encouraged me to buy now rather than wait any longer.

 

[dabut101]

There is very little difference between USB3 and USB2 David it is just as fast and should work fine on your PC

 

[Dave Williams]

There is very little difference between USB3 and USB2 David it is just as fast and should work fine on your PC

Thanks for the info but unfortunately it's not the speed it's the lack of a USB3 socket in my MacBook that's the problem. The R5 and presumably all the R range come with a USB 3 to USB 3 connecting cable unlike the Canon predecessors that came with USB for the computer and a micro USB 3 to the camera.

 

[colincurry]

Don't know if something like this will help? Have the converse to connect usb2 kit to the usbC on my laptop.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-Converting-Thunderbolt-MacBook-Devices/dp/B07CVX3516

Colin

 

[Dave Williams]

Don't know if something like this will help? Have the converse to connect usb2 kit to the usbC on my laptop.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-Converting-Thunderbolt-MacBook-Devices/dp/B07CVX3516

Colin

Thanks for that link Colin, it's a bargain price too, the Apple one is about £40. I'm not 100% certain it fits my 2015 MacBook but it looks like it will.


Second thoughts, it doesn't fit . I think I might have described the provided Canon R5 cable incorrectly. It's USB-C to USB-C, my MacBook only has the older USB input socket. It's annoying that over the years they keep on changing the sockets and you end up with a spaghetti of wiring stuffed in a drawer and in the end can't find the one you need anyway!

 

[Dave Williams]

For an older MacBook or PC these adapters will do the job nicely.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...oXcqCoH-4Ggp2pqgVN0rMxuCWQdO7R1u_lXpmRdYE-IrU

 

[Bafty]

There is very little difference between USB3 and USB2 David it is just as fast and should work fine on your PC

My understanding is USB 3 has a transfer rate 10x faster than USB 2, obviously if you connect a USB 3 device to older PC with type A ports it with default lower bit rate. The newer USB 3.1 Gen 2 is the big jump now finding its way into new machines

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Christmas came early when my R5, ordered 22nd August arrived last Friday. Not much opportunity to use it in anger yet with gloomy weather and heavy cloud most days since then, but I popped up the coast on Tuesday to give it a run out.


Couldn't have got these with my 7D II in a month of Sundays. That Purple Sandpiper with its wings elevated isn't having a stretch, it's actually coming in to land. Not full quality, because these are just images that I edited for facebook, but you'll get the idea.

 

[Gronk08]

Christmas came early when my R5, ordered 22nd August arrived last Friday. Not much opportunity to use it in anger yet with gloomy weather and heavy cloud most days since then, but I popped up the coast on Tuesday to give it a run out.


Couldn't have got these with my 7D II in a month of Sundays. That Purple Sandpiper with its wings elevated isn't having a stretch, it's actually coming in to land. Not full quality, because these are just images that I edited for facebook, but you'll get the idea.

Great shots

 

[colincurry]

I did read that grey imports were going to be targeted in future by our relevant tax people, and the whole future might be dependant on what final Brexit arrangements are made so that too encouraged me to buy now rather than wait any longer.

Hallo Dave

How have you found the R5?

Colin

 

[Dave Williams]

Hi Colin,
Still very much early days and what with bad weather and now lockdown, the opportunities have been fairly limited to get out and about so far but my initial opinion is that it's a fabulous piece of kit. I have never had so many gains in one camera upgrade since buying my first DSLR way back when! Most of the time in the past I have settled for one improved feature , maybe improved ISO performance, or frames per second but with this camera you get the lot in one package ( well maybe no improvement on ISO vs the 1DX2 but no apparent loss either) . I have seen lots of people say the camera is a game changer and in my opinion they are not over egging it either. Depends what you have previously owned of course and I have never had my hands on a 1DX3 but the R5 does everything my 1DX2 and 5D4 could plus a fair bit more too. Mirrorless is a new learning curve and it's injected a new lease of life in to my photographic interest. I love the fact that what you see through the viewfinder is more than likely what you get on the memory card, I love the layout of the camera, and I'm even getting used to the fact its miniaturised especially compared to my 1DX2. Probably the biggest gain is the fact the auto focus is amazing for tracking, it's not perfect but it's certainly a huge gain over my previous cameras. Not only does it track well, the focus points cover the whole of the screen.
The fact you can use your EF lenses with no apparent loss of functionality is a huge benefit too. I'm undecided on which if any of the current crop of RF lenses I might be tempted by but there is no hurry. The R5 can auto focus at beyond an f8 lens combination which is something my other bodies were not capable of doing other than in live view so a 2.0x TC on my 100-400 at f11 is doable. How it would perform with the RF800 and the 1.4TC would be interesting! The RF 100-500 looks to be a nice piece of kit and from past experience of using my 100-400, for birding it would always be at the 500mm end but I do think it's disappointing that if you mount a 1.4TC on it, it immediately limits you to 420mm-700mm which for bigger wildlife on say a safari holiday would be less use than keeping with my 100-400 which with the 1.4TC becomes a more usable 140-560mm zoom and doesn't cost me a penny as I already have that bit of kit.
The big question of course is will the R5 take better images than my previous cameras?
...... and the answer is No!
But getting them will be much easier now, especially the action shots.

 

[colincurry]

I am really agonising about the R5. The IBIS and AF are very attractive; along with the better low-light performance. My trusty 7D2 with 100-400 Mk2 are still doing very well - especially when the sun is shining. I have a 1.4 tc Mk3 which I could bolt on to an R5 and this would give me almost the same reach as my current system. Of course, there are rumours of R7 but is it worth waiting for and how long might this be?

I am encouraged by Dave Williams' comments, I would wish to use my EF glass which I consider a good investment, particularly at my advanced age.

I note the Barred Wobbler's comment that he would not have got the shots of the Purple Sandpiper with his 7D2 and wonder which lens he was using and the shutter speed, aperture and ISO involved?

I have an old colleague whose one consistency was his ability to prevaricate...................

Colin

 

[Barred Wobbler]

I am really agonising about the R5. The IBIS and AF are very attractive; along with the better low-light performance. My trusty 7D2 with 100-400 Mk2 are still doing very well - especially when the sun is shining. I have a 1.4 tc Mk3 which I could bolt on to an R5 and this would give me almost the same reach as my current system. Of course, there are rumours of R7 but is it worth waiting for and how long might this be?

I am encouraged by Dave Williams' comments, I would wish to use my EF glass which I consider a good investment, particularly at my advanced age.

I note the Barred Wobbler's comment that he would not have got the shots of the Purple Sandpiper with his 7D2 and wonder which lens he was using and the shutter speed, aperture and ISO involved?

I have an old colleague whose one consistency was his ability to prevaricate...................

Colin

They were all taken with my Sigma 150-600 Sport, hand held. The first three and the redshank were all at F8, 1/1250sec and ISO 800. The shutter speed was a bit of an oversight. I thought I was using 1/1600 until I noticed the top dial had rolled (my fault). The Godwits were earlier in the day, in difficult back-lighting. F8 1/1600 ISO 2500. Flight shots at such close range on those sandpipers on a short hop of about 20-30 m from one pool to another would never have been possible with the 7D II - I'd never have hefted the camera to my eye and got a focus lock in such a brief time.

As it was, the eye-tracking was good, but not 100% by any means. I missed some in difficult circumstances for the camera, but there were still a high proportion of hits. For instance, there was a tendency at times for the focus to search for an 'eye' in the small ripples in shallow water around the wading birds (but not to lock on to it) and likewise, when I was photographing rock pipits earlier in the day on drifts of washed-up seaweed, the camera hunted for 'eyes' amongst the seaweed, where there was sometimes more contrast than there was in the drab face of the pipit. Once it did find a real eye after maybe a couple of seconds of searching it held it well, even in a running pipit on seaweed (F8 1/800 ISO 3200), for this shot I had the in-camera crop set to 1: 1.6 rather than full frame then I cropped it further to about 65% in PP.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

The photos I've posted so far were all taken last Tuesday (22nd Dec).

The only other time my R5 has been used for birds was a few days earlier on the Saturday, the day after the camera was delivered, when I took the short trip to our local harbour to test it on flying stuff, admittedly easy flying stuff.

One of my passions is the honey buzzard migration each autumn at Tarifa and with the odd spring movement chucked in. 2020 was the first autumn I've missed there this century, with flight shots taking centre ground since 2010. It's no joke swinging a 150-600 in a gale of wind, trying to hold the centre 5 focus points on a honey or a booted eagle that is being buffeted in the opposite direction to the buffeting of the camera, with the added complication that most focus systems are more at home with a departing bird than an approaching one. It's hard enough to get one shot out of a burst in focus, never mind more than one when the target bird is close.

This was admittedly an easy target from last weekend and there wasn't a gale of wind, but all three shots of the burst held the approaching black-headed gull at close range. There was no worry about holding focus points over the bird when the entire screen is the 'focus point' and I can't wait for this damned Covid to get out of the way so I can try it out in 'real life' with thousands of raptors on The Strait in 2021

 

[capdegat]

Just to confirm Dave Williams view that this is a game changer .I've had mine a couple of months now so apart from a couple of lockups ( which i've had on other cameras so not too worried ) everything is looking good . Just received the rf 1.4x to go with the 100-500 so will give it a go as soon as I can hold it steady against the north easts standard mini gales !

 

[colincurry]

Thanks for the confirmation, Les.

Wondering which lenses and/or extenders, express and SD cards used by you, Dave Williams and the Barred Wobbler? In particular, do any of use a 2 x extender please?

Equivocation rules! Would an R6 with 100-400 Mk2 and 2 x tc Mk 3 help to ameliorate the lack of MP compared with the R5 when cropping? Even using the 7D2 with100-400 2, because of the distance from the bird, I still find it necessary to crop heavily at times. Then there is the possibility of the R7 more like a a 7D later in the year.

Colin

 

[Dave Williams]

Colin, I have been using a full frame camera for quite some time and I find I nearly always have the 1.4TC bolted on to my 500mm f4 lens and it hasn't changed from camera to camera be it 20mp or 45. I used to use my 2xTC quite a lot but for some reason decided I'd stop. The IQ can be very good but best in good light.
I also have a 100-400 Mk2 that I very occasionally use for bird photography and I did have a short session with the R5 and trying both the 1.4 and 2x TC's. I wouldn't want to use the 2x on it very often to be honest but it was impressive that the camera could AF at f11 which is better than my other DSLRs could achieve.
In answer to your question it's not just a loss of IQ which isn't that bad, it's the speed at which it will autofocus.
If you are looking for a less expensive way of moving forward why not consider the R6 and the RF800mm f11? I have seen some excellent images taken with it and it would be a nice light weight combination too. Just remember though the lens comes without a tripod mount or hood but you can buy a new one for £829 from e-infinity.
They say, and I can only report what I have read, that the ISO and AF performance on the R6 might be a tad better than the R5. You don't need to but a CFexpress card and reader either but you might want to upgrade your SD cards. I bought the 128 gb Lexar 250mb read speed one from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lexar-Professional-1667x-UHS-II-LSD128CBNA1667/dp/B07NLY7N7L/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=Hprhp&pf_rd_p=3d6f73e3-59a0-49fa-adae-5548adbb7b98&pf_rd_r=PWT465ZSMWQR2BCE2WVP&pd_rd_r=349704a8-dcbf-4387-915e-57d668aa3a09&pd_rd_wg=oWops&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_d

Fast enough for my needs and a lot cheaper than the slightly faster 300mb version.

 

[colincurry]

Thanks for all the info.

I ordered an R5 and Control Ring adapter from Panamoz yesterday.

To re-cap, I have the 100-400 Mk2 and 1 1.4 tc Mk3.

Using the bare lens on my 7D2, I have a reach of 400mm x 1.6 = 640mm. I already crop heavily, sometimes up to 100% and, to me, the results seem quite acceptable. Using the lens and tc on the R5, I would have a reach of 560mm. The R5 sensor size lends itself to cropping; maybe up to 100%?

I value the versatility of the 100-400, particularly for insects and flowers. I can't see that the RF800mm offers this. I do not often uses hides and would not want to carry two long lenses despite the lightness of the RF11. Part of the attraction of the RF system and adaptor is the possibility to use existing glass.

Who knows when Covid restrictions might be lifted; let lone enough to allow us to safely go on foreign birding trips.

Our local nature reserve is currently submerged.

There are strong hints of a possible R7 APS-C mirrorless later this year.

Sans R5, I would be no worse off than I am now.

Bearing in mind the above, I wondered if the R5 for my purposes might be a beautiful pig in a poke.

After yet more agonising, I equivocate no longer and have cancelled R5 - excellent response from Panamoz, by the way.

Let's see what an R7 might have to offer.

Colin

 

[Dave Williams]

Thanks for all the info.

I ordered an R5 and Control Ring adapter from Panamoz yesterday.

To re-cap, I have the 100-400 Mk2 and 1 1.4 tc Mk3.

Using the bare lens on my 7D2, I have a reach of 400mm x 1.6 = 640mm. I already crop heavily, sometimes up to 100% and, to me, the results seem quite acceptable. Using the lens and tc on the R5, I would have a reach of 560mm. The R5 sensor size lends itself to cropping; maybe up to 100%?

I value the versatility of the 100-400, particularly for insects and flowers. I can't see that the RF800mm offers this. I do not often uses hides and would not want to carry two long lenses despite the lightness of the RF11. Part of the attraction of the RF system and adaptor is the possibility to use existing glass.

Who knows when Covid restrictions might be lifted; let lone enough to allow us to safely go on foreign birding trips.

Our local nature reserve is currently submerged.

There are strong hints of a possible R7 APS-C mirrorless later this year.

Sans R5, I would be no worse off than I am now.

Bearing in mind the above, I wondered if the R5 for my purposes might be a beautiful pig in a poke.

After yet more agonising, I equivocate no longer and have cancelled R5 - excellent response from Panamoz, by the way.

Let's see what an R7 might have to offer.

Colin

I can understand you not going ahead, but who knows what will be launched and when. The R5 does have a 1.6 crop mode but I haven't used it as yet and probably won't either. On my first outing, and I have had only a few opportunities in the last two months, I took this shot of. a dog running towards me using eye detect and it was literally about the 10th shot I'd taken with the camera so it was practice mode. I was using the 100-400 Mk2 with a 1.4TC Mk3 . I was amazed that the sequence of shots were all in focus, the eye detect worked perfectly.
In answer to your question re cropping here the shots are 1) full shot 2)100% crop 3) 200% crop. No other processing except on the 200% one were I have sharpened the detail a tad.

You have to click on the original to see it!!

Incidentally, for the reasons you have cancelled the body, the day before yesterday I had the RF 100-500 in my Panamoz basket only to cancel it three times during the course of the day. Now it's out of stock and out of temptation again.
Our reserves in Wales are shut no matter what the condition!

 

[colincurry]

Dave

That 200% crop looks amazing. Perhaps if that is the norm, I shall have to re-equivocate!

To help your 100-500 quandary, that lens has a slightly higher MFD than the 100-400.

It is nice to know that 'I am not alone!'

Colin